Friday, February 24, 2012

In case you haven’t been following along, let me catch you up. On Wednesday we made a gorgeous roasted chicken broth for the expressed purpose of making this soul-warming soup. Here, we used that wonderfully flavorful broth to complete the recipe, and let me tell you, it was incredible.

You know how much I hate to complicate a recipe, and I'll always err on the side of too few ingredients vs. too many, so when I make this chicken noodle soup it’s a constant battle to not add other “stuff.”

Not that’s there’s anything wrong with stuff, per se, but if properly made, this soup is just too amazing in its pure and natural state for any distracting, supercilious additions. By the way, a little advice to you young up-and-coming food bloggers; never use “per se,” and “supercilious” in the same sentence.

Yes, other than the mirepoix, and a tiny pinch of fresh thyme, the rest of this soup is basically chicken and noodles. Speaking of the noodles, I’m hoping you go with the wide ones I used. I was only half-kidding about this soup being a meditation, and egg noodle wrestling is half the fun.

Like I said in the video, this will work with regular chicken stock, but if you do decide to make this, I sincerely hope you go ahead and make the roasted chicken broth first. Enjoy!

My Bubbie used to make it this way, with wide egg noodles. She also added a parsnip and, if she had it around, the cut-off ends of asparagus, to make the broth. Such a great color when you roast the chicken first. Thanks for this!

My condolences for your pup, James. I'm glad you shared your loss with us. As an online community we can listen. I have a very old beloved cat that I will not have very much longer and I will be bereft when he goes.

Chef John: I find that when I cook egg noodles in the soup itself, they continue to cook in the hot broth even after I've turned off the heat and everything except the first bowl is full of mushy overcooked noodles. Do you have this problem and a way to fix it, besides cooking the noodles separately?

Hi Chef John - HELP - every time I add pasta to my broths, stews/chili and soups and I stir the pasta in to cook--I always get some pasta that ends up sticking and burning on the bottom of my Le Crueset enamel pot regardless of how often I stir it - any suggestions for what I am doing wrong to prevent this? Or does yours also burn and chefs just don't 'mention' that part? Thanks! :)

cb, sorry, but i've never seen or even really heard of this problem. 4oz of noodles in 2 quarts of boiling (must be boiling) would never stick to the bottom. I dont even think I could make it stick on purpose.

Unless you are using the world's thinnest cheapest pot, and not stirring when you add, its a mystery.

Just made chicken noodle soup. I've pretty much always made it like this and I think it's the best. So glad you didn't put any "weird" stuff in it.When I'm pressed for time (or not) I use a Cosrco roasted chicken, make broth from that, and finish the soup pretty much like you do. I love homemade noodles like my mom made. Again, if I'm pressed for time (or not) I buy frozen Reames noodles. They are thick and yummy like homemade. I don't know if they are available everywhere. I buy them in the Pacific Northwest.Jackie

I prefer the really small, thin egg noodles so I can relive my childhood experience of eating Campbell's Chicken Noodle but now I can eat the homemade version with no MSG. Actually, I started making homemade because I couldn't find a store-bought version without MSG.

I made the stock on Friday night and then the soup last night. It was delicious, I especially liked the "Pappardelle". I have plenty left over for tonight.........yummm!James, so sorry about your dog. I have three and they mean everything to me, I totally feel your pain.

I am just getting over a bad cold so it took me two days worth of strength to get this made, then....BOO-YA I was completely healed after eating the first bowl. The deliciousness is insane! Thank you Chef John

When I roasted the chicken at 400 for 45mins, my breast meat wasn’t cooked all the way through. I went back and re-watched part 1, and Chef John’s chicken looked noticeably more cooked so I decided to put the chicken back in for another 10 mins. Because the chicken cooled already when it went back in the oven, there was still a lot of raw meat. I decide this was ok and I would just put the it in earlier during the noodle cooking period.

I then consulted the internet and found 3 & ½ chicken normally takes around an hour and half to cook at 375, so 45mins is approximately a half cooked chicken. The way I figured it, the pieces were small enough that any under cooking would be resolved later and maybe that was the intent since breast meat is the most delicate.

Also, I didn’t skim off as much I normally would with a fattier cut of meat (short ribs, ox tail, pork shoulder, etc.) as I expected chicken to leaner in nature and not require it. That being said, I probably should have as there was a noticeable film as my soup cooled that I could do without.

Otherwise, very difficult to screw this one up and as always, I enjoyed.

Actually I don't like cooking with ketchup. Instead I added some tomato paste with a pinch of sugar and a small spoon of vinegar (which comes nearly to the same). Nevertheless: Again a great simple dish!

Hello,I'm new here at this blog. When I saw your recipe for the Chicken Noodle Soup, I just had to prepare it. What can I tell you, the 4 hours of pre preperations were worth it. It was amazing. Thanks.

I made this last night for dinner (it paired nicely with a loaf of sourdough from the market). This was so yummy, I take back my hesitation that I expressed in my comment about the broth of "wasting" the dark meat in the broth. It was sooooooo worth it.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find wide egg noodles in my market that were as long as the ones you used. (I live less than an hour from Lancaster, PA so you would think something as Pennsylvania Dutch as egg noodles would have lots of variation. Maybe I need to start trolling more of the Amish farmer's markets in the area...) But, regular length (1" - 1.5" long) noodles seemed to work.

I admit I did make a couple of changes. My wife detests the texture of celery pieces in soups, so I put extra celery in while making the broth to get a little extra flavor to make up for the lack of celery in my mirepoix. Instead I substituted some coarsly chopped crimini mushrooms for the celery. My wife also wanted potatoes in the soup, so I browned/sauteed some diced, unpeeled creamers (small red potatoes) in just chicken fat for about 10 minutes, and added them to my sauteed mirepoix just before adding the broth.

Hopefully my wife didn't finish the leftovers for lunch and I can get 1 more bowl out of it. ;-)

Hey guys this is the best chicken soup I have ever had!Make the broth on day one then put in fridge overnight this makes it easy to spoon the fat off your brooth. So easy so delicious.Follow the recipe to the tee and please don't add the red pepper keep it simple.It will last up to a week in the fridge and gets even better as a few days pass BIG YUM! Ur the man Chef John weThanx U soooo much!

Hello from Australia, Chef John :) today I made the roast chicken broth and I'm going to make the soup tomorrow morning. If I want to do a double batch next time doing two chickens at once, how would that affect the roasting time?

Chef John, I have done this recipe twice. Both have turned out excellent. I just finished trying this same roasted broth-to-soup method a 3rd time with a couple of pheasants that a friend provided. It comes out just as tasty, in fact it was a bit better than the same old chicken flavor.

I just wanted to thank you, I never would have had the confidence to try something like that before I started watching your videos.

I browse your blog before I go shopping for food now, lol.

Can I throw out a food wish? How would you do a Deli-style roast beef? (all pink with a well-done skin) I have tried an eye of round roast at 500 degrees for 20 min, then you shut it off and keep the oven closed for a couple hours. This method worked, but I had inconsistent results depending on the size of the shrink-wrapped grocery store cut of meat.

Again, thanks for all of the free learning you provide! I hope I aint asking you about a video you have already made......actually that wouldn't be too bad.

I made this yesterday to help a houseful of sick people. It was time consuming doing it from start to finish, but I'm unemployed at the moment so it was doable. Delicious! This was far better than the chicken soup I've always made without roasting. Not sure I can ever go back. Thanks for sharing.

I've never cooked in my life (and had no desire) til I met the man I know I'm going to marry. Don't have money for lessons, and came across you on allrecipes.comYou are amazing and have tried many of your recipes and they all came out great! Thank you soo much!Anyways, I feel so bad for "wasting" all that chicken you use to make the broth. Is there anyway you can still use it or just toss it in the trash? I will be making this tonight when I get off work. But for now, off to buy a dutch oven! Hooray, an excuse to go shopping, hehe.

I adore you Chef John!! You have NO IDEA how many times I have laughed while watching a video of yours. The comments about the CNSoup being a meditation were a riot. You also are SUCH an inspiring cook. I have watched cooking shows on TV for many years. None of them ever make me want to get up off my butt and actually MAKE FOOD. They make me want to eat food--because it looks good--but they make it seem so complicated that I am usually too intimidated to try to do what they are doing. For some reason, your style is just SO much more approachable. You actually INSPIRE ME TO COOK! That is quite a feat--believe me ;) Thank you so very much for doing what you do! Love love love your blog!! <3

I found you a long time ago on allrecipes and have enjoyed you and your videos very much. I've recently become disabled and have more time on my hands than I care to tell you so practically live on your blog. This soup looks amazing. I'm such a soup person and could live on soup alone, so, that said I will most definitely try this method for chicken soup. I've always used the carcass of roasted chicken and turey to make soup but this takes it to a much higher level I'm sure. I can[t wait to try it. Thank you for the hours of entertainment and enlightenment you have given me.

This is the 3d time I watch this video and I don't get tired! You are so entertaining with your comments and remarks. My husband is not a big cook but he enjoys watching your videos as well. Keep up the good work!

I made this today for my mother-in-law who was just discharged from the hospital. She loved it and called it "gourmet chicken soup"! I anticipate eating the soup regularly will lead to a full recovery soon.

I am just finishing up the broth portion and OMG does it ever smell wonderful!!!! I am making what I think will be the best chicken noodle soup ever for a Home Dedication for Habitat for Humanity tomorrow...thank you so much for sharing your recipe, your great humor and your mad chicken soup skills!!!!

Chef John,I first discovered your recipe for mashed potatoes years ago, and wanted to find more of your recipes in order to expand my repertoire. Normally my wife does the cooking, and lately she has fallen ill, so the cooking duties have fallen to me. I make the potatoes at least once a week, and served up the Mancakes for Father's Day, and for a special visit by a long-distance friend. Every recipe I try of yours is extremely easy for a beginner to learn, and improve upon.

That being said, I made this soup today, following your recipe for the roasted chicken broth. This is the best recipe for chicken noodle soup I have ever made, and my mother makes some pretty darn good soup.

Thank you for continuing your blog, and making great recipes that are fabulous.

I am making this soup for the third time today.....I absolutely love this recipe exactly the way it is. I have my son and his wife coming for the weekend and I know they will moan while eating this beautiful tasty soup..........I have never added anything extra to the soup but I may try a little Kale for this weekend....not sure yet....don't want to ruin a great recipe. Thanks you Chef.

I tried this for the first time today, and like all Chef John recipes, my wife and I were totally blown away by the results. There's enough leftovers for multiple meals this week, and they're all going to be awesome!